Dear Parents/Guardians, Students and Staff,
Where are the weeks going? It’s the middle of February already.
Teaching and Learning
As I walk around the school and into classrooms, I am impressed by the teaching and learning that is occurring and the positive interactions between our staff and our students. I was fortunate last week to attend the Year 7 Meet and Greet BBQ where I was able to meet almost all the Year 7 Parents/Guardians in a relaxed setting. Please continue to maintain a close to the school and your child’s teachers and level co-ordinator as
your child transitions into life at secondary school.
Inappropriate student behaviour
Towards the end of last week, a couple of students were caught up in a physical altercation which is not a reflection of the 99% of students who continuously live our school values. On Friday, I interrupted classes at the end of the day and asked all teachers to bring their students to the assembly hall. I addressed all students about the serious nature of being involved in inappropriate behaviour and filming and uploading such footage to social media. Students were asked to delete footage from their devices as well as social media. Students who fail to follow this instruction will be facing sanctions. As Principal and teachers of this school, we take the safety and wellbeing of all students as paramount.
Expectations of everyone on site It is also timely that I remind all members of the school community (Parents/Guardians, Students and Staff) to use positive language and behaviours to demonstrate respect for themselves and others. Inappropriate language, intimidating and bullying behaviour are not tolerated.
Student Attendance While we are edging closer to our important student census date (February 28th) it is imperative that we know the reason for your child’s absence. Improving our attendance data is a key focus of our school this year as the saying goes “It’s not okay to be away”. Each day a child is absent from school is another day when they are not learning. Please ensure you phone the administration office of your child’s absence, and if a known absence, to ring the school in advance so work can be organised for more extended absences. Each day the administration office follows up on student absences with a quick phone call. Simply stating that students are ‘at home’ is not an approved reason and will result in further clarification being sought. If you need assistance in getting your child to school, please contact the school for additional support.
School Council A reminder to interested parties that nominations for School Council close on 12th March at 4pm. Please refer to the letter sent home with your child last week or contact the administration office for forms or further information.
SRC Leadership Group It was great to drop by the students who form the Student Representative Council at a leadership-training day last week. I was most impressed with their level of maturity and genuine care and ownership they show towards the student body. Congratulations to Ms Haworth and the students for such a successful planning day.
Japanese sister school There has been a long standing sister relationship between Hatsushiba Ritsumeikan Junior High School in Japan and our school with frequent visits between the two countries. Currently we do not have on staff a teacher who is fluent in Japanese. After discussion with the Leadership team and at School Council last week, it was decided to put the idea of a Japanese trip on hold at present. This would mean our Japanese sister school would also not visit here in August. It was a difficult decision to make but one we had to consider at length given our current situation.
Swimming sports It was great to see the students and staff get involved in the annual swimming carnival. Congratulations to all who participated. Thank you to the Parents/Guardians and extended families for showing your support. A big thank you to Mr Shannon, the House Captains, Mrs Haworth and the SRC. Congratulations to all students on the day who lived our school values. Enjoy learning!
Ms Melissa Twaddell
Principal (Acting)
Assistant Principal – Whitney Munroe
It has been wonderful to see students and teachers settling back into classes and building new relationships that will continue to grow over the course of the year. I have had the opportunity to visit many classes and have seen students writing creative stories, analysing architecture building designs, baking muffins, practicing the guitar, and much more!
Our hope at Warracknabeal Secondary College is to engage students in their areas of interest whilst preparing them for their future pathways so that they become life-long learners.
Year 7 BBQ:
Thank you to all of our students, families and friends who attended the Year 7 BBQ on the 13th of February. It was wonderful to see the Year 7 students interacting, building friendships, and eating yummy food! If you were unable to attend the BBQ, please contact Ms Sophie Emmett to receive important information about the Year 7 camp. As a reminder, payment for the camp is due by this Thursday, 22nd February. Please contact the school if you have any queries or concerns.
Sun Safety:
In accordance with our Sun Protection Policy and as a SunSmart
school, all students are required to wear hats during recess and lunch to protect
against over-exposure to UV rays. Please remind your students to wear their hats whilst in the
yard and to stay in shaded areas for sun protection.
iPad Procedure:
This year we have implemented a new procedure for iPad usage in the classroom for all students in Years 7 to 9. We have placed plastic bins in each room and students place their iPads in the bin until the teacher instructs students to gather their iPads for classroom learning activities. The implementation of this procedure has been very successful so far and has increased student on-task learning time in classes.
Sport and Athletics:
This week we had our first whole-school sporting event, the Interhouse Swimming Sports! It was great to see the students interacting positively, supporting each other, and having a fun time participating in sport. Well done to all of our competitors!
Music Program:Students are engaging in our new music program and are learning how to play instruments such as the piano and the guitar. Ms Phillips will also be offering instrumental lessons for small groups of students. If your student is interested in learning an instrument, please contact the school or Ms Phillips to discuss the possibility of lessons.
Whitney Munroe
Assistant Principal of Middle School
School Council Reports
What a fantastic start to the year. I particularly enjoyed attending the year 7 welcome BBQ, it is so lovely to hear students chatting with parents, teachers and each other in a casual setting about their positive transition to Warracknabeal Secondary College.
Many thanks to Sophie Emmett, Melissa Twaddell, and all the teachers who attended the night welcoming parents and students to our school. One of the topics that was discussed during the evening was parent engagement and how parents can share the Secondary College years with their student. I encourage you all to be engaged and wish to reinforce that parents are welcome in the school, your ideas, suggestions and involvement are valued greatly.
Last week a letter was sent home encouraging all those interested to fill in an expression of interest for Warracknabeal Secondary School Council. Please reflect upon this and if you would like some more information please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Being a school council member offers you the opportunity to assist with and add to the future direction of our school. Being a school council member is a rewarding and valuable experience and I encourage you to think about nominating yourself for a position.
There are many opportunities within our school community to assist to make our school the best place to be. Please keep an eye out in the newsletter for events and opportunities as they unfold.
Don’t hesitate to contact me if you would like any further information.
Kind regards,
Kylie Zanker
President Warracknabeal Secondary College School Council
Ph. 0428349058
Parents/Guardians/Visitors: Please read the following exert in regards to ALL parents, guardians and visitors in relation to the school’s duty of care to ensure a safe environment for our students and staff: School policy and procedures regarding visitors to the school must, as a minimum:
require all visitors arriving and departing during school hours to use a visitor’s book to record their name, signature, the date and time, and the purpose of the visit.
include procedures for assessment and verification of the suitability of visitors to be in a location where children freely move about, learn and play. The evidence required is generally a working with children check (WWC Check); however if a visitor’s occupation exempts them from the requirement to have a WWC check e.g. police officers, teachers, they must provide evidence to support their claim to an exemption.
Please refer to our current ‘Visitors Policy’ on our website.
Humanities Domain
Humanities at WSC is off to a great start for 2018. We have assembled a dynamic and knowledgeable team consisting of Alysha Genn, Ruth McNamara, Lisa Sanders, Dale Shannon, Hayley Weir and myself. Humanities includes history, geography, business and economics, industry and enterprise, legal studies and civics and citizenship. We are very excited about the teaching and learning activities we have planned for students this year.
Our Year 7 Humanities classes have quickly grasped the six key skills of history. Some of our Year 7s are pictured below practicing their chronology skills by “pegging out historical washing” and working collaboratively to solve problems.
Our new 8-9 curriculum is providing unique and interesting learning opportunities for students. In Bitter Chocolate students have considered the question “Christopher Columbus: Hero or Villain?” through an analysis of primary sources (based on the evidence, they decided he was a villain, by the way!) Our Shark Tank students have been considering what makes a business successful and incorporated the cross-curriculum priority of numeracy in the “Needs and Wants Fisherman Game”. Our Natural Disasters students have been studying tectonic plates.
Our senior student-historians at WSC have made a strong start to their Unit 3 study of the French Revolution. This course is demanding yet Jasmine, Harry, Will and Jacob have approached the challenge with maturity and enthusiasm. As you may know, it is widely believed that Marie Antoinette said of the starving peasants in France who were without bread due to poor harvests “Let them eat cake!” However, this is historically inaccurate. Regardless of who said it, with Ms Weir and Will sharing the same birthday, we felt it was advice worth taking!
Until next time, if you have any questions or comments about what students are learning in humanities, please don’t hesitate to contact myself or the relevant subject teacher.
Ms Hazel Weir
Humanities Domain Leader
English Domain
The start to 2018 has been a creative one for English at Warracknabeal Secondary College, with both middle school and senior school English classes studying, drafting and publishing creative responses to texts.
This has been a positive and enthusiastic start to the year, allowing students to demonstrate their abilities to be drawn into the characters, themes and events of their texts, and expand on them creatively. The restructuring of the Year 8/9 English curriculum sees the units of work align with the curriculum of senior English, allowing Year 7, 8 and 9 students to prepare for the expectations of senior years of school.
The only exception to the creative writing task has been Year 11, who have completed their reading – and some performing! – of Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’ and are now ready to lay the blame for the tragic downfall of Macbeth on a series of key characters.
Looking to help your student with their reading and writing? Reading drafts of assessment tasks can provide valuable feedback before submission!
Annaliese Attenborough English Domain Leader 4 Times a Day Zach Winsall -Year 12 Creative Writing
It’s been almost a week since I woke up from the coma, with my fingers twitching and legs slightly moving again I’m awake. The room smells so clean and disinfected like in a newly painted room. The walls in places have marks from what seem to be wheelchairs or walkers. The worst part about this room is that I’m stuck in it for the next 3 months or until I fully recover.
Dr Billcruft told me after I woke up (in simple terms so I understood at the time), “Michael you have sustained a heavy blow to the head in the accident causing the coma, you have also broken 5 ribs and broken your right arm and your right leg, you wont be leaving the hospital for at least 3 months give or take.”
I looked at his face, all clean-shaven and smooth, and could see that he was tired, that may have been because I woke up from the coma at about 12:45 am. I had trouble getting words out so all that he heard was, “Mmmmhh… ok.”
From then on sleep has been hard, every time I fall asleep I wake up again only 40 minutes later, I’m surprised I haven’t lost my mind yet.
The nurses come every 2 hours to check on me now instead of every hour. One nurse I see about 4 times a day her name is Atla. She’s young around the same age as me I guess, and her hair as black as the night sky and with contrasting bright blue eyes (she’s just beautiful). Atla will come in and check all the systems hooked up to me then my blood pressure. Sometimes we have conversations about news or our lives (makes my pain and sadness go away for the time) slowly learning all about each other. We also talk about the other patients I can see from my bed. I respect her confidentiality so I do most of the talking and she either nods or laughs.
The other day, while waiting for Atla, I watched an old man across the hall struggling to walk from his bed to the toilet, over the past couple of days I noticed he’s been stubborn and not calling the nurses for help. This time I was about to hit my button just to get a nurse to see what he was doing, but before I could a nurse caught him and helped him from where he was standing into the toilet.
I told this to Atla, she chuckled and said how hard it is to look after a patient like that and then proceeded to say how I wasn’t one of them. This was the day that I began to really enjoy her visits.
We would talk about how Dr Billcruft had a bad habit of picking his nose when things got stressful or how bad the garden outside was becoming. This made me begin to want my time here to never end.
About 2 months had passed; I’m still stuck in the bed. I of course am able to shuffle towards the chair and plant myself, but it became too hard after a while and I have given up.
Dr Billcruft told me the other day that I may be getting the cast off early because of how well my recovery is going. I don’t want this to happen, all that was going through my head was what about Atla, what will happen when I leave.
Atla came in not long after I was told of this. She did the usual, make sure all systems hooked up to me are working and take my blood pressure, she was rushed, and everything she did was quick and stiff.
Her eyes were all red and puffy and bits of mascara drooping down her cheek. Atla turned to me and asked, “How was your morning?” I responded with, “Ok but better now,” I paused. “I was told that I might be leaving earlier than I thought.”
She turned away from me and bluntly said, “I know.” With that she stood up grabbed her notepad and walked away.
For the rest of that day another nurse by the name of Beryl came in. You could tell that she was a veteran here. Her hands were soft, but strong and everything was done in 2 minutes. The only thing she would say is, “Hello,” “How do you feel?” and “Goodbye.”
I would look out the window after every check up; the sun would come down and up, down and up. Beryl who now was softer had finally learnt more than three phrases. Whenever Beryl was taking her time I would start to think of what to ask her, but by the time I had the words she was gone. I was stumped until I finally gained enough courage.
Beryl walked in and folded out her notepad I looked at her, “Beryl do you know where Atla is?”
She stopped writing, her dark brown eyes looked straight into mine. “Well I don’t know much about love but I do know that she doesn’t want you to leave.”
This was the first time that Beryl had said anything that wasn’t hello or goodbye.
I was speechless. It wasn’t till my next check-up that I asked Beryl if I could see her. Beryl knew that I felt the same way and went straight away to get her.
Atla walked in slowly with her notepad tucked in her pocket. Her black hair was let out of the usual ponytail, and her eyes still seemed red and puffy. “Beryl said you wanted to talk to me.”
I was nearly completely in awe with her and all that came out of my mouth was “yeah.” The weather outside was terrible and made me nervous (don’t know why).
I looked straight into her blue eyes and I said softly, “I love you.” Her face lifted from a straight face to a smile “I know.”
Zach Winsall
(Year 12 Creative Writing)
Year 7 Mathematics
Firstly a big welcome to all the year 7 parents as we look forward to working with you in supporting your student’s learning in mathematics over the years to come. So far, the Year 7 students have been reviewing whole number operations in class. This requires students to work through a series of tasks relating to place value, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, order of operations and factors and multiples. Students have also started completing homework sheets which are submitted on a weekly basis - 7A – Miss Emmett (Wednesday) and 7B- Mr Bish (Thursday). Please support your student in arranging a suitable time each week (ie: 30min) where they are able to complete their homework sheet in a quiet area and that they are then able to discuss any questions that they may be experiencing difficulties with. As a parent, you are not expected to know all the answers but rather that you are willing to work with your student to find a solution. Students are not expected to be able to answer all questions correctly particularly the last 3 which are provided as challenge questions rather than skills at a year 7 level. Each week the homework sheets will be corrected and the scores entered on Edmodo where both students and parents have access to view results and progression. The intention is that week by week, students should steadily improve across a broad range of mathematics skills and continue to develop self-confidence in their ability to solve mathematical problems.
Any concerns or questions – please do not hesitate to contact your maths teacher. Mr John Bish
Mathematics Domain Leader
Science Domain
Many interesting activities have been happening in Science. The Year 7s have been learning their way around the science lab and using Virtual Reality to simulate what happens when accidents happen in the lab. Hopefully they will now be safe scientists!
Year 8/9 Psychology students have been learning about different types of psychologists and how to conduct psychological experiments. They conducted a survey at the school swimming sports and will analyse the results next week in class. Thanks to everyone who participated.
Kate Morgan
Science Domain Leader
INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC LESSONS
Students interested in Instrumental Music Tuition can see Ms Phillips to obtain an application form.
Instruments on offer are: keyboard, guitar, flute, violin, cello and bass guitar.
Tuition fees are $115 for the year, and hire of instrument fees are $200 per year.
WSC INTER HOUSE SWIMMING SPORTS 2018
A great turnout of students, family and friends created a fantastic atmosphere for the College Interhouse Swimming Sports on Tuesday, February 20. The weather was great, and the students went to great effort to dress up in their house colours of gold, blue and maroon. Most events were filled on the day and house captains and vice captains had their hands full trying to organise their teams for the big event, however all did a fantastic job. All students who attended and participated in the day showed great team spirit with some very special efforts in the pool.
There were 5 records broken for the day – all by the same student! Lily Eldridge blitzed the pool to break all individual events in the girl’s 15-year-old age group. Lily’s record times were.
It wasn’t just these types of achievements that were acknowledged in the pool. Some students, even though they knew they would find it tough to get to the other end, persevered to earn their team valuable points. Justin Heeps’ individual effort in the 17-20 year old 4x50m freestyle relay was a great example of this. It was these types of efforts that rallied the teams to cheer and support each other.
The final results were as follows;
AGE CHAMPIONS:
AGE
SEX
CHAMPION
12/13yo
BOY
Toby Drage (Borung)
12/13yo
GIRL
Rhiana Keys (Wimmera)
14yo
BOY
Josiah Keam (Wimmera)
14yo
GIRL
Keeta Orzulak (Wimmera)
15yo
BOY
Aiden Keys (Wimmera)
15yo
GIRL
Lily Eldridge (Henty)
16yo
BOY
William Drage (Borung)
16yo
GIRL
Imogen Holland (Wimmera)
17-20yo
BOY
Brandon Cramp (Borung)
17-20yo
GIRL
Brodie Hallam (Henty)
OVER ALL RESULTS; Boys Agg: First: Borung 200 Second: Wimmera 108 Third: Henty 86 Girls Agg: First Wimmera 153: Second: Henty 123 Third: Borung 112 Grand Agg: First: Borung 323 Second: Wimmera 274 Third: Henty 240
The boys aggregate School Council Cup went to Borung house captain, Patrick Lindsay and his vice-captain Zach Winsall, followed by a presentation of the girls aggregate this time to Wimmera, with captains, Prani May and Jasmine Bull accepting. However, the dominance of the Borung boys got them over the line for the grand aggregate finishing 49 points ahead of their rivals in the overall standings. This is a credit to all of the Borung captains who worked hard to fill as many events as possible throughout the day. The final event of the day is always a great way to celebrate the community atmosphere of the sports, and the friendly rivalry that is part of such sporting events. Teams of staff and year 12 students battled it out in a 4x50m relay event as spectators lined the sides of the pool to cheer. The day was a great success and the College thanks the following people for their support: All students who swam in events on the day, students who dressed up and cheered, student assistants, DISSC students, WSC staff, pool management
committee, lifeguards/kiosk, Warracknabeal Swimming Club members, volunteer officials, parents, relatives and friends. A special thank you to Kelly
Ough who volunteered to be our referee for the day.
The next level of competition is the Interschool Black Ranges Division sports, which will be held on Monday, March 5 in Warracknabeal. Our students will be competing against the best students from Horsham, Murtoa, St Brigids, Ararat, Marian and Stawell. Parents and friends of the college are invited to attend and support our team at the Warracknabeal Memorial Swimming Pool. We would also welcome any volunteers to help out on the day as timekeepers or officials, from approximately 11:00am to 2:30pm.
Dale Shannon
Sports Coordinator
Careers Report
Work Placement
All VCAL students are required to obtain one day of work placement as part of their VCAL studies. A few students have already arranged their placements at local businesses and are eagerly awaiting the 1st March start date. Please support your child in obtaining a placement in the next few weeks, you never know where this may lead! Thanks to Emmett’s, Powell Farms, Fagan Auto, O’Connor’s, Laser Electrical, Your Regional Butcher and Preston Building for your ongoing support of our students.
Job Opportunities
Certificate III in Sports Turf Management (Greens Keeper) Apprenticeship Skillinvest, on behalf of a Horsham Golf Club, are seeking an enthusiastic, committed person who enjoys outdoor work. The successful candidate will study Certificate 3 in Sports Turf Management. Ideally, the successful applicant will possess the following attributes:
Willingness to work outdoors in all weather conditions;
Self-motivated person wishing to commence a career in the horticulture field;
An interest in the golfing industry;
Be able to work in a busy team environment;
A reliable attitude with a desire to achieve high quality work;
Physically fit and ability to follow instructions;
Willingness to learn and undertake apprenticeship training.
For further details please contact Shane Cross on 0418 564 890. TO APPLY: Written applications including a resume and cover letter to be submitted via our website: www.skillinvest.com.au by 5pm Friday 23rd February 2018. Skillinvest is an equal opportunity employer
Automotive Spray Painting Apprenticeship Skillinvest is currently recruiting on behalf of Wilson Bolton for an enthusiastic and committed person wishing to start a career within the smash repair industry. The position represents an excellent opportunity to join a highly successful long-standing business with a reputation for high quality workmanship and customer service. Ideally, the successful applicant should possess:
Genuine desire to learn all aspects of this trade
Reliable and responsible attitude
Ability to follow instructions and work in a team environment
Keen interest in the automotive industry
For further details please contact Chris Perry on 0419 312 293. TO APPLY: Written applications including a resume and cover letter to be submitted via our website www.skillinvest.com.au by 5pm Friday 2nd March 2018 Skillinvest is an equal opportunity employer
Automotive Apprenticeship (Mechanic – Light Vehicle) Skillinvest is currently recruiting on behalf of Wilson Bolton for an enthusiastic and committed person wishing to start a career within the automotive industry.
The position represents an excellent opportunity to join a highly successful long standing business with a reputation for high quality workmanship and customer service. Ideally the successful applicant should possess:
A sound mechanical aptitude
Genuine desire to start an automotive apprenticeship
Applicants should also demonstrate a strong commitment to customer service and pride of work
Ability to follow instructions and work in a team environment
Tasks involved may include:
Service & Repair the mechanical parts of motor vehicles such as engines, transmissions (clutch, gear box) and suspension systems
Discover faults, listen to engines, fit & operate special test equipment & test drive faults
Repair, replace worn or faulty parts, referring to manual if necessary
Reassemble, test, clean & adjust repaired or replaced parts or assemblies using various instruments to make sure they are working properly & putting them back into vehicle
Establish relationships with customers
Work effectively with others
For further details please contact Chris Perry on 0419 312 293 TO APPLY: Written applications including a resume and cover letter to be submitted via our website www.skillinvest.com.au by 5pm Friday 2nd March 2018
Nicole Stewart Careers/VET Co-ordinator Structured Workplace Learning
Warracknabeal Secondary College are this year involved in the Coles Sports for Schools Program. A box will be located at Coles and at WSC where you can deposit your vouchers.
Dear Parents/Guardians, Students and Staff,
Where are the weeks going? It’s the middle of February already.
Teaching and Learning
As I walk around the school and into classrooms, I am impressed by the teaching and learning that is occurring and the positive interactions between our staff and our students. I was fortunate last week to attend the Year 7 Meet and Greet BBQ where I was able to meet almost all the Year 7 Parents/Guardians in a relaxed setting. Please continue to maintain a close to the school and your child’s teachers and level co-ordinator as
your child transitions into life at secondary school.
Inappropriate student behaviour
Towards the end of last week, a couple of students were caught up in a physical altercation which is not a reflection of the 99% of students who continuously live our school values. On Friday, I interrupted classes at the end of the day and asked all teachers to bring their students to the assembly hall. I addressed all students about the serious nature of being involved in inappropriate behaviour and filming and uploading such footage to social media. Students were asked to delete footage from their devices as well as social media. Students who fail to follow this instruction will be facing sanctions. As Principal and teachers of this school, we take the safety and wellbeing of all students as paramount.
Expectations of everyone on site
It is also timely that I remind all members of the school community (Parents/Guardians, Students and Staff) to use positive language and behaviours to demonstrate respect for themselves and others. Inappropriate language, intimidating and bullying behaviour are not tolerated.
Student Attendance
While we are edging closer to our important student census date (February 28th) it is imperative that we know the reason for your child’s absence. Improving our attendance data is a key focus of our school this year as the saying goes “It’s not okay to be away”. Each day a child is absent from school is another day when they are not learning. Please ensure you phone the administration office of your child’s absence, and if a known absence, to ring the school in advance so work can be organised for more extended absences. Each day the administration office follows up on student absences with a quick phone call. Simply stating that students are ‘at home’ is not an approved reason and will result in further clarification being sought. If you need assistance in getting your child to school, please contact the school for additional support.
School Council
A reminder to interested parties that nominations for School Council close on 12th March at 4pm. Please refer to the letter sent home with your child last week or contact the administration office for forms or further information.
SRC Leadership Group
It was great to drop by the students who form the Student Representative Council at a leadership-training day last week. I was most impressed with their level of maturity and genuine care and ownership they show towards the student body. Congratulations to Ms Haworth and the students for such a successful planning day.
Japanese sister school
There has been a long standing sister relationship between Hatsushiba Ritsumeikan Junior High School in Japan and our school with frequent visits between the two countries. Currently we do not have on staff a teacher who is fluent in Japanese. After discussion with the Leadership team and at School Council last week, it was decided to put the idea of a Japanese trip on hold at present. This would mean our Japanese sister school would also not visit here in August. It was a difficult decision to make but one we had to consider at length given our current situation.
Swimming sports
It was great to see the students and staff get involved in the annual swimming carnival. Congratulations to all who participated. Thank you to the Parents/Guardians and extended families for showing your support. A big thank you to Mr Shannon, the House Captains, Mrs Haworth and the SRC. Congratulations to all students on the day who lived our school values.
Enjoy learning!
Ms Melissa Twaddell
Principal (Acting)
Assistant Principal – Whitney Munroe
It has been wonderful to see students and teachers settling back into classes and building new relationships that will continue to grow over the course of the year. I have had the opportunity to visit many classes and have seen students writing creative stories, analysing architecture building designs, baking muffins, practicing the guitar, and much more!
Our hope at Warracknabeal Secondary College is to engage students in their areas of interest whilst preparing them for their future pathways so that they become life-long learners.
Year 7 BBQ:
BBQ on the 13th of February. It was wonderful to see the Year 7 students interacting, building
friendships, and eating yummy food! If you were unable to attend the BBQ,
please contact Ms Sophie Emmett to receive important information about the Year 7 camp. As a reminder, payment for the camp is due by this Thursday, 22nd February. Please contact the school if you have any queries or concerns.
Sun Safety:
In accordance with our Sun Protection Policy and as a SunSmart
school, all students are required to wear hats during recess and lunch to protect
against over-exposure to UV rays. Please remind your students to wear their hats whilst in the
yard and to stay in shaded areas for sun protection.
iPad Procedure:
This year we have implemented a new procedure for iPad usage in the classroom for all students in Years 7 to 9. We have placed plastic bins in each room and students place their iPads in the bin until the teacher instructs students to gather their iPads for classroom learning activities. The implementation of this procedure has been very successful so far and has increased student on-task learning time in classes.
Sport and Athletics:
This week we had our first whole-school sporting event, the Interhouse Swimming Sports! It was great to see the students interacting positively, supporting each other, and having a fun time participating in sport. Well done to all of our competitors!
Music Program:
Whitney Munroe
Assistant Principal of Middle School
School Council Reports
What a fantastic start to the year. I particularly enjoyed attending the year 7 welcome BBQ, it is so lovely to hear students chatting with parents, teachers and each other in a casual setting about their positive transition to Warracknabeal Secondary College.
Many thanks to Sophie Emmett, Melissa Twaddell, and all the teachers who attended the night welcoming parents and students to our school. One of the topics that was discussed during the evening was parent engagement and how parents can share the Secondary College years with their student. I encourage you all to be engaged and wish to reinforce that parents are welcome in the school, your ideas, suggestions and involvement are valued greatly.
Last week a letter was sent home encouraging all those interested to fill in an expression of interest for Warracknabeal Secondary School Council. Please reflect upon this and if you would like some more information please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Being a school council member offers you the opportunity to assist with and add to the future direction of our school. Being a school council member is a rewarding and valuable experience and I encourage you to think about nominating yourself for a position.
There are many opportunities within our school community to assist to make our school the best place to be. Please keep an eye out in the newsletter for events and opportunities as they unfold.
Don’t hesitate to contact me if you would like any further information.
Kind regards,
Kylie Zanker
President Warracknabeal Secondary College School Council
Ph. 0428349058
Parents/Guardians/Visitors:
Please read the following exert in regards to ALL parents, guardians and visitors in relation to the school’s duty of care to ensure a safe environment for our students and staff:
School policy and procedures regarding visitors to the school must, as a minimum:
- require all visitors arriving and departing during school hours to use a visitor’s book to record their name, signature, the date and time, and the purpose of the visit.
- include procedures for assessment and verification of the suitability of visitors to be in a location where children freely move about, learn and play. The evidence required is generally a working with children check (WWC Check); however if a visitor’s occupation exempts them from the requirement to have a WWC check e.g. police officers, teachers, they must provide evidence to support their claim to an exemption.
Please refer to our current ‘Visitors Policy’ on our website.Humanities Domain
Humanities at WSC is off to a great start for 2018. We have assembled a dynamic and knowledgeable team consisting of Alysha Genn, Ruth McNamara, Lisa Sanders, Dale Shannon, Hayley Weir and myself. Humanities includes history, geography, business and economics, industry and enterprise, legal studies and civics and citizenship. We are very excited about the teaching and learning activities we have planned for students this year.
Our Year 7 Humanities classes have quickly grasped the six key skills of history. Some of our Year 7s are pictured below practicing their chronology skills by “pegging out historical washing” and working collaboratively to solve problems.
Our new 8-9 curriculum is providing unique and interesting learning opportunities for students. In Bitter Chocolate students have considered the question “Christopher Columbus: Hero or Villain?” through an analysis of primary sources (based on the evidence, they decided he was a villain, by the way!) Our Shark Tank students have been considering what makes a business successful and incorporated the cross-curriculum priority of numeracy in the “Needs and Wants Fisherman Game”. Our Natural Disasters students have been studying tectonic plates.
Our senior student-historians at WSC have made a strong start to their Unit 3 study of the French Revolution. This course is demanding yet Jasmine, Harry, Will and Jacob have approached the challenge with maturity and enthusiasm. As you may know, it is widely believed that Marie Antoinette said of the starving peasants in France who were without bread due to poor harvests “Let them eat cake!” However, this is historically inaccurate. Regardless of who said it, with Ms Weir and Will sharing the same birthday, we felt it was advice worth taking!
Until next time, if you have any questions or comments about what students are learning in humanities, please don’t hesitate to contact myself or the relevant subject teacher.
Ms Hazel Weir
Humanities Domain Leader
English Domain
The start to 2018 has been a creative one for English at Warracknabeal Secondary College, with both middle school and senior school English classes studying, drafting and publishing creative responses to texts.
This has been a positive and enthusiastic start to the year, allowing students to demonstrate their abilities to be drawn into the characters, themes and events of their texts, and expand on them creatively.
The restructuring of the Year 8/9 English curriculum sees the units of work align with the curriculum of senior English, allowing Year 7, 8 and 9 students to prepare for the expectations of senior years of school.
The only exception to the creative writing task has been Year 11, who have completed their reading – and some performing! – of Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’ and are now ready to lay the blame for the tragic downfall of Macbeth on a series of key characters.
Looking to help your student with their reading and writing? Reading drafts of assessment tasks can provide valuable feedback before submission!
Annaliese Attenborough
English Domain Leader
4 Times a Day
Zach Winsall -Year 12 Creative Writing
It’s been almost a week since I woke up from the coma, with my fingers twitching and legs slightly moving again I’m awake. The room smells so clean and disinfected like in a newly painted room. The walls in places have marks from what seem to be wheelchairs or walkers. The worst part about this room is that I’m stuck in it for the next 3 months or until I fully recover.
Dr Billcruft told me after I woke up (in simple terms so I understood at the time), “Michael you have sustained a heavy blow to the head in the accident causing the coma, you have also broken 5 ribs and broken your right arm and your right leg, you wont be leaving the hospital for at least 3 months give or take.”
I looked at his face, all clean-shaven and smooth, and could see that he was tired, that may have been because I woke up from the coma at about 12:45 am. I had trouble getting words out so all that he heard was, “Mmmmhh… ok.”
From then on sleep has been hard, every time I fall asleep I wake up again only 40 minutes later, I’m surprised I haven’t lost my mind yet.
The nurses come every 2 hours to check on me now instead of every hour. One nurse I see about 4 times a day her name is Atla. She’s young around the same age as me I guess, and her hair as black as the night sky and with contrasting bright blue eyes (she’s just beautiful). Atla will come in and check all the systems hooked up to me then my blood pressure. Sometimes we have conversations about news or our lives (makes my pain and sadness go away for the time) slowly learning all about each other. We also talk about the other patients I can see from my bed. I respect her confidentiality so I do most of the talking and she either nods or laughs.
The other day, while waiting for Atla, I watched an old man across the hall struggling to walk from his bed to the toilet, over the past couple of days I noticed he’s been stubborn and not calling the nurses for help. This time I was about to hit my button just to get a nurse to see what he was doing, but before I could a nurse caught him and helped him from where he was standing into the toilet.
I told this to Atla, she chuckled and said how hard it is to look after a patient like that and then proceeded to say how I wasn’t one of them. This was the day that I began to really enjoy her visits.
We would talk about how Dr Billcruft had a bad habit of picking his nose when things got stressful or how bad the garden outside was becoming. This made me begin to want my time here to never end.
About 2 months had passed; I’m still stuck in the bed. I of course am able to shuffle towards the chair and plant myself, but it became too hard after a while and I have given up.
Dr Billcruft told me the other day that I may be getting the cast off early because of how well my recovery is going. I don’t want this to happen, all that was going through my head was what about Atla, what will happen when I leave.
Atla came in not long after I was told of this. She did the usual, make sure all systems hooked up to me are working and take my blood pressure, she was rushed, and everything she did was quick and stiff.
Her eyes were all red and puffy and bits of mascara drooping down her cheek.
Atla turned to me and asked, “How was your morning?”
I responded with, “Ok but better now,” I paused. “I was told that I might be leaving earlier than I thought.”
She turned away from me and bluntly said, “I know.” With that she stood up grabbed her notepad and walked away.
For the rest of that day another nurse by the name of Beryl came in. You could tell that she was a veteran here. Her hands were soft, but strong and everything was done in 2 minutes. The only thing she would say is, “Hello,” “How do you feel?” and “Goodbye.”
I would look out the window after every check up; the sun would come down and up, down and up. Beryl who now was softer had finally learnt more than three phrases. Whenever Beryl was taking her time I would start to think of what to ask her, but by the time I had the words she was gone. I was stumped until I finally gained enough courage.
Beryl walked in and folded out her notepad I looked at her, “Beryl do you know where Atla is?”
She stopped writing, her dark brown eyes looked straight into mine. “Well I don’t know much about love but I do know that she doesn’t want you to leave.”
This was the first time that Beryl had said anything that wasn’t hello or goodbye.
I was speechless. It wasn’t till my next check-up that I asked Beryl if I could see her. Beryl knew that I felt the same way and went straight away to get her.
Atla walked in slowly with her notepad tucked in her pocket. Her black hair was let out of the usual ponytail, and her eyes still seemed red and puffy. “Beryl said you wanted to talk to me.”
I was nearly completely in awe with her and all that came out of my mouth was “yeah.” The weather outside was terrible and made me nervous (don’t know why).
I looked straight into her blue eyes and I said softly, “I love you.” Her face lifted from a straight face to a smile “I know.”
Zach Winsall
(Year 12 Creative Writing)
Year 7 Mathematics
Firstly a big welcome to all the year 7 parents as we look forward to working with you in supporting your student’s learning in mathematics over the years to come. So far, the Year 7 students have been reviewing whole number operations in class. This requires students to work through a series of tasks relating to place value, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, order of operations and factors and multiples. Students have also started completing homework sheets which are submitted on a weekly basis - 7A – Miss Emmett (Wednesday) and 7B- Mr Bish (Thursday). Please support your student in arranging a suitable time each week (ie: 30min) where they are able to complete their homework sheet in a quiet area and that they are then able to discuss any questions that they may be experiencing difficulties with. As a parent, you are not expected to know all the answers but rather that you are willing to work with your student to find a solution. Students are not expected to be able to answer all questions correctly particularly the last 3 which are provided as challenge questions rather than skills at a year 7 level. Each week the homework sheets will be corrected and the scores entered on Edmodo where both students and parents have access to view results and progression. The intention is that week by week, students should steadily improve across a broad range of mathematics skills and continue to develop self-confidence in their ability to solve mathematical problems.
Any concerns or questions – please do not hesitate to contact your maths teacher.
Mr John Bish
Mathematics Domain Leader
Science Domain
Year 8/9 Psychology students have been learning about different types of psychologists and how to conduct psychological experiments. They conducted a survey at the school swimming sports and will analyse the results next week in class. Thanks to everyone who participated.
Kate Morgan
Science Domain Leader
Students interested in Instrumental Music Tuition can see Ms Phillips to obtain an application form.
Instruments on offer are: keyboard, guitar, flute, violin, cello and bass guitar.
Tuition fees are $115 for the year, and hire of instrument fees are $200 per year.
WSC INTER HOUSE SWIMMING SPORTS 2018
A great turnout of students, family and friends created a fantastic atmosphere for the College Interhouse Swimming Sports on Tuesday, February 20. The weather was great, and the students went to great effort to dress up in their house colours of gold, blue and maroon. Most events were filled on the day and house captains and vice captains had their hands full trying to organise their teams for the big event, however all did a fantastic job. All students who attended and participated in the day showed great team spirit with some very special efforts in the pool.
There were 5 records broken for the day – all by the same student! Lily Eldridge blitzed the pool to break all individual events in the girl’s 15-year-old age group. Lily’s record times were.
50m Freestyle – 29.54 seconds
50m Butterfly – 33.14
50m Breaststroke – 37.68
50m Backstroke – 34.30
100m Freestyle – 1:05.84 minutes
It wasn’t just these types of achievements that were acknowledged in the pool. Some students, even though they knew they would find it tough to get to the other end, persevered to earn their team valuable points. Justin Heeps’ individual effort in the 17-20 year old 4x50m freestyle relay was a great example of this. It was these types of efforts that rallied the teams to cheer and support each other.
The final results were as follows;
AGE CHAMPIONS:
OVER ALL RESULTS;
Boys Agg: First: Borung 200 Second: Wimmera 108 Third: Henty 86
Girls Agg: First Wimmera 153: Second: Henty 123 Third: Borung 112
Grand Agg: First: Borung 323 Second: Wimmera 274 Third: Henty 240
The boys aggregate School Council Cup went to Borung house captain, Patrick Lindsay and his vice-captain Zach Winsall, followed by a presentation of the girls aggregate this time to Wimmera, with captains, Prani May and Jasmine Bull accepting. However, the dominance of the Borung boys got them over the line for the grand aggregate finishing 49 points ahead of their rivals in the overall standings. This is a credit to all of the Borung captains who worked hard to fill as many events as possible throughout the day. The final event of the day is always a great way to celebrate the community atmosphere of the sports, and the friendly rivalry that is part of such sporting events. Teams of staff and year 12 students battled it out in a 4x50m relay event as spectators lined the sides of the pool to cheer. The day was a great success and the College thanks the following people for their support: All students who swam in events on the day, students who dressed up and cheered, student assistants, DISSC students, WSC staff, pool management
committee, lifeguards/kiosk, Warracknabeal Swimming Club members, volunteer officials, parents, relatives and friends. A special thank you to Kelly
Ough who volunteered to be our referee for the day.
The next level of competition is the Interschool Black Ranges Division sports, which will be held on Monday, March 5 in Warracknabeal. Our students will be competing against the best students from Horsham, Murtoa, St Brigids, Ararat, Marian and Stawell. Parents and friends of the college are invited to attend and support our team at the Warracknabeal Memorial Swimming Pool. We would also welcome any volunteers to help out on the day as timekeepers or officials, from approximately 11:00am to 2:30pm.
Dale Shannon
Sports Coordinator
Careers Report
Work Placement
All VCAL students are required to obtain one day of work placement as part of their VCAL studies. A few students have already arranged their placements at local businesses and are eagerly awaiting the 1st March start date. Please support your child in obtaining a placement in the next few weeks, you never know where this may lead! Thanks to Emmett’s, Powell Farms, Fagan Auto, O’Connor’s, Laser Electrical, Your Regional Butcher and Preston Building for your ongoing support of our students.Job Opportunities
Certificate III in Sports Turf Management (Greens Keeper) Apprenticeship Skillinvest, on behalf of a Horsham Golf Club, are seeking an enthusiastic, committed person who enjoys outdoor work. The successful candidate will study Certificate 3 in Sports Turf Management. Ideally, the successful applicant will possess the following attributes: Willingness to work outdoors in all weather conditions;
Self-motivated person wishing to commence a career in the horticulture field;
An interest in the golfing industry;
Be able to work in a busy team environment;
A reliable attitude with a desire to achieve high quality work;
Physically fit and ability to follow instructions;
Willingness to learn and undertake apprenticeship training.
For further details please contact Shane Cross on 0418 564 890. TO APPLY: Written applications including a resume and cover letter to be submitted via our website: www.skillinvest.com.au by 5pm Friday 23rd February 2018. Skillinvest is an equal opportunity employer
Automotive Spray Painting Apprenticeship Skillinvest is currently recruiting on behalf of Wilson Bolton for an enthusiastic and committed person wishing to start a career within the smash repair industry. The position represents an excellent opportunity to join a highly successful long-standing business with a reputation for high quality workmanship and customer service. Ideally, the successful applicant should possess:
Genuine desire to learn all aspects of this trade
Reliable and responsible attitude
Ability to follow instructions and work in a team environment
Keen interest in the automotive industry
For further details please contact Chris Perry on 0419 312 293. TO APPLY: Written applications including a resume and cover letter to be submitted via our website www.skillinvest.com.au by 5pm Friday 2nd March 2018 Skillinvest is an equal opportunity employer
Automotive Apprenticeship (Mechanic – Light Vehicle) Skillinvest is currently recruiting on behalf of Wilson Bolton for an enthusiastic and committed person wishing to start a career within the automotive industry.
The position represents an excellent opportunity to join a highly successful long standing business with a reputation for high quality workmanship and customer service. Ideally the successful applicant should possess:
A sound mechanical aptitude
Genuine desire to start an automotive apprenticeship
Applicants should also demonstrate a strong commitment to customer service and pride of work
Ability to follow instructions and work in a team environment
Tasks involved may include:
Service & Repair the mechanical parts of motor vehicles such as engines, transmissions (clutch, gear box) and suspension systems
Discover faults, listen to engines, fit & operate special test equipment & test drive faults
Repair, replace worn or faulty parts, referring to manual if necessary
Reassemble, test, clean & adjust repaired or replaced parts or assemblies using various instruments to make sure they are working properly & putting them back into vehicle
Establish relationships with customers
Work effectively with others
For further details please contact Chris Perry on 0419 312 293 TO APPLY: Written applications including a resume and cover letter to be submitted via our website www.skillinvest.com.au by 5pm Friday 2nd March 2018
Nicole Stewart Careers/VET Co-ordinator Structured Workplace Learning
Warracknabeal Secondary College are this year involved in the Coles Sports for Schools Program. A box will be located at Coles and at WSC where you can deposit your vouchers.